All LUMP SUM PAYMENT Articles

Sears Holdings and the New York Times Company separately announced plans on Friday to offer lump-sum pension settlements to former employees, moves that experts say will help shore up their balance sheets by reducing pension liabilities and may have been spurred by recent Internal Revenue Service guidance on how those payouts are calculated.

The many big companies looking to gain control over their yawning pension-fund obligations are finding there are no quick fixes.

Earlier this month, General Motors Co. said it would pare its pension obligations for retired white-collar workers by billions of dollars, in part by offering them a lump-sum payout, instead of continuing payments. GM also said it would hand responsibility for the retirees’ pension plan off to Prudential Financial Inc. by buying a group annuity contract; it said that wouldn’t change the plan’s payments.